Martlands provides licensed Category 1 animal by-product collection to abattoirs, cutting plants, veterinary practices, laboratories and farms across Lancashire, Cheshire, Merseyside, Greater Manchester and Cumbria. Category 1 is the highest risk tier in the animal by-products framework, and it is the only one where the material must be destroyed outright rather than recovered. That single fact shapes everything about how it is stored, transported and documented. We operate under Animal By-Products Licence APB/CCN21/373/8002 from a DEFRA approved processing and sampling facility in Burscough.
What Falls Into Category 1
Category 1 is defined by what the material is and by the risk it carries, not by the type of business that produced it. A veterinary practice and an abattoir can both generate it. The tier covers specified risk material, animals suspected of or confirmed with a transmissible spongiform encephalopathy, animals containing residues of prohibited substances, pet animals, zoo and circus animals, animals used in scientific experiments, wild animals suspected of carrying a disease transmissible to humans or livestock, and catering waste from international transport.
Specified risk material is the category most commonly encountered in commercial meat processing. It is defined by species and by age, which means the same anatomical part can be specified risk material in one animal and not in another. In cattle it includes the skull, brain, eyes, spinal cord and parts of the intestine above defined age thresholds. Because those thresholds are age-based, correct identification depends on accurate animal records rather than visual assessment alone. Our guide to ABP categories sets out how the three tiers compare.
International Catering Waste
Catering waste from aircraft, ships and other means of transport arriving from outside the country is Category 1 regardless of what it contains. The classification exists to keep exotic animal diseases out of the domestic livestock population, and it is why this material cannot be handled through an ordinary commercial food waste contract. Ports, airports and logistics operators need a licensed route with documentation that reflects the correct tier.
Fallen Stock and Category 1
Fallen animals are not automatically Category 1. Where specified risk material is present, typically in ruminants above the relevant age thresholds, the carcass falls into Category 1 on those grounds. Fallen stock from other species is categorised according to species and circumstance rather than being assigned to the highest tier by default. This distinction matters commercially as well as legally, because the two tiers carry different handling requirements. Where a holding needs both routes, our farm and fallen stock collection service runs alongside this one.
Disposal Routes for Category 1 Material
Category 1 material cannot enter the feed chain, cannot be composted, and cannot be processed into fertiliser or pet food. The permitted routes are incineration, or rendering followed by incineration or another approved disposal outlet.
Where rendering is used, the material must be processed by pressure sterilisation at 133 degrees Celsius, at an absolute pressure of three bar, for a minimum of twenty minutes. That standard exists because the prions associated with transmissible spongiform encephalopathies survive conditions that would destroy conventional pathogens. It is a legal specification rather than a matter of good practice.
On-farm burial and burning of livestock has been unlawful since 2003, with narrow derogations for designated remote areas. If you have been told that burial remains an option for high-risk material on an ordinary holding, that advice is out of date. Our page on the ban on burying or burning fallen stock explains the current position.
Documentation and Traceability
Responsibility for Category 1 material does not transfer when the vehicle leaves. Under the Animal By-Products (Enforcement) (England) Regulations 2013, the producer retains a duty in respect of the material until it has been destroyed at an approved plant. Documentation is how that duty is evidenced.
Every Category 1 animal by-product collection we make is accompanied by a Commercial Document identifying the category, the quantity, the producer, the carrier and the receiving plant. The producer copy must be retained for two years. These are the records the Animal and Plant Health Agency or a local authority inspector will ask to see, and our page on who is APHA explains where enforcement responsibility sits. We hold Waste Carrier Licence CB/QE5406MT and Site Licence EAWML/100236, and collections are booked and tracked through the KoLeCt system so a collection history can be produced at short notice.
Storage and Segregation Before Collection
Category 1 must be kept physically separate from lower tiers at every stage. Mixing is not a paperwork problem that can be corrected later, because contact with Category 1 material downgrades the entire load to Category 1 and closes off every recovery route the other material would have had. On a site producing all three tiers, that mistake is expensive as well as non-compliant.
Containers must be leak-proof, covered and clearly identified by category. Storage areas should be sited where they can be accessed by a collection vehicle without crossing clean areas of the site. Our storage of animal by-products guidance covers containment and siting, and the guide to transporting animal by-products covers what changes once material is in transit.
Who We Provide Category 1 Animal By-Product Collection For
Abattoirs and Meat Processing
For abattoirs and cutting plants, specified risk material is a daily operational stream rather than an occasional event. Removal needs to keep pace with throughput, because storage capacity for Category 1 on a working site is deliberately limited. We build collection frequency around production schedules rather than fitting sites into a fixed route. Lower-risk streams from the same premises are handled through butchers waste collection and Category 3 ABP collection.
Veterinary Practices and Laboratories
Animals used in scientific experiments, and animals containing residues of prohibited substances, fall into Category 1. So do pet animals. Veterinary practices and research institutions need a route that is discreet as well as compliant, and one that produces documentation appropriate to the sector. We provide scheduled and on-request collection for both.
Farms and Livestock Holdings
Where fallen cattle are over 48 months, brain stem sampling for BSE surveillance is required before disposal. Martlands operates as a DEFRA approved sampling centre, which means sampling and collection happen through one arrangement rather than two. Our page on BSE testing of fallen cattle explains how the process works in practice, and why it matters that the sampling is done by an approved centre.
Ports and Transport Hubs
International catering waste requires a collector licensed for Category 1 and documentation that records it correctly. Volumes at these sites fluctuate with schedules rather than following a weekly pattern, so we arrange capacity accordingly.
Category 1 Animal By-Product Collection Across the North West
Operating from Burscough places our fleet close to the M6, M58 and M61 corridors, which is what makes a genuinely responsive service possible across the region. We cover Lancashire ABP collection areas and Cheshire ABP collection areas, together with Merseyside, Greater Manchester and south Cumbria.
Because Category 1 collections often follow a disease suspicion or an unplanned mortality event rather than a schedule, response time carries more weight here than on any other stream. Same-day collection is available for fallen stock, and the line is answered outside office hours.
Related Animal By-Product Services
Most sites producing Category 1 material also produce material in the lower tiers, and handling them through one licensed operator removes the risk of a stream being routed incorrectly. Alongside this service we provide Category 2 ABP collection for manure, digestive tract content and animals that died other than by slaughter where no specified risk material is present, and full food waste and ABP collection for commercial premises. The wider regulatory picture is covered in our guide on how to stay compliant with UK ABP regulations.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between Category 1, 2 and 3?
Category 1 is the highest risk tier and must be destroyed. Category 2 covers manure and digestive tract content, animals that died other than by slaughter for human consumption where no specified risk material is present, animals killed for disease control, and material containing residues of authorised substances above permitted limits. Category 3 is the lowest tier and includes parts of slaughtered animals passed fit for human consumption but not intended for it, and former foodstuffs.
Is all fallen stock Category 1?
No. This is the most common misunderstanding we encounter. Fallen ruminants above the relevant age thresholds are Category 1 because they contain specified risk material. Fallen stock of other species is categorised on its own facts. Assigning everything to Category 1 by default is not a safe default, because it changes the handling and the cost without improving compliance.
How quickly can you collect?
Same-day collection is available for fallen stock, and we operate a line outside office hours for suspected disease cases and unplanned mortality events. Call 01704 776977 and we will tell you honestly when a vehicle can reach you rather than quoting a standard window.
Can Category 1 material be buried or burned on site?
No, other than under narrow derogations that apply to designated remote areas. On-farm burial and burning has been unlawful since 2003. Material must go to an approved incineration or rendering route.
What paperwork do I need to keep?
The producer copy of the Commercial Document for each movement, retained for two years. Filed by collection date, it is straightforward to produce during an inspection. Loose in a drawer, it is the reason inspections take a day rather than an hour.
Do you sample for BSE surveillance?
Yes. Martlands is a DEFRA approved sampling centre, so brain stem sampling for fallen cattle over 48 months is carried out as part of the collection rather than arranged separately.
Arrange Category 1 Animal By-Product Collection
If you are uncertain whether material on your site is Category 1, that is the right moment to ask rather than the moment after an inspection has raised it. We can assess the material, specify containers and set a collection frequency that fits how your site actually runs. Call 01704 776977 to speak to the team, or use our contact us page to request a quote for Category 1 animal by-product collection.